Some residents unaccounted for in fire at Pa. senior living facility
Authorities struggled on Friday to account for the whereabouts of all the residents of a senior living community near Philadelphia after a massive blaze tore through the complex during the middle of the night, injuring nearly 30 and leading to a chaotic evacuation.
West Chester Mayor Jordan Norley said Friday afternoon that a few of the 132 residents of the Barclay Friends Senior Living Community, located west of Philadelphia, were unaccounted for following the huge fire.
“We’re hoping for the best obviously here,” said Mr. Norley, who put the number taken to area hospitals at 29.
Officials said fewer than 20 remained hospitalized and all were in good condition.
County emergency officials said there was the possibility someone could have died in the fire, which erupted late Thursday night. But a spokeswoman for the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, which was on the scene, told an afternoon news conference that no relatives had reported any family members missing.
Dozens of neighbors rushed to help with the rescue, wrapping the elderly in blankets and carrying some of them to ambulances in makeshift gurneys. Some of the residents were taken to a shelter set up at a nearby college.
Emergency management officials said much of the burned-out complex was too unstable for investigators to enter and check to make sure everyone got out. All of the staff of about 20 were accounted for, officials said.
Barclay Friends offers various levels of care, including memory care, skilled nursing and postacute rehab. The cause of the fire there was under investigation.
The fire spread to multiple buildings, engulfing sections within minutes as more than 400 emergency personnel responded. The heat was so intense that one firefighter discovered his helmet was melting, said county emergency services director Robert Kagel.